Entrepreneurship and etiquette summit held at Saint Mary's SHS

The 2016 Education, Entrepreneurship and Etiquette Summit for Girls (3E Summit for Girls) was debuted at  Saint Mary's SHS Korle Gonno,  Accra.  The program is conceptualised and organised by  The Lotus Events. 

The coaching and mentoring session is targeted at urban youth particularly young girls about to complete secondary school.

This is necessitated by the ever - increasing number of unemployed youth in Ghana as well as lowered moral standards that have escalated social vices among young ladies.

The youth advocacy event is centered on the thematic areas of Education, Entrepreneurship and Etiquette as catalysts to champion youth enterprises. The event created awareness on the different options to earn a decent living with a fusion of tertiary level education and soft skills acquisition. 255 Participants went through six distinct focus groups with hands-on skills development sessions. 

The Creative Director of The Lotus Events, Elizabeth Victoria Amanor  said "judging from the current state of high youth unemployment in Ghana, it is safe to conclude that the average Ghanaian graduate is obsessed with white collar jobs and thus has a  static mindset to only  seek salaried work as a means of employment." Whereas the sheer number of graduates outweighs the available corporate jobs, She further said that " the truth is there are numerous self - employment options which the urban, educated, chic Ghanaian lady has not fully explored. These entrepreneurship avenues which hold immense potential for making money include: app development, beauty therapy &wellness, blogging, beads making, catering, cake decor, childcare, designing fashion accessories, events planning, fitness instruction, floristry, food processing, gardening, health care services, Image consulting, personal shopper & smartphone repairs". These micro- enterprises can be started with little capital from one's kitchen, backyard, living room or smartphone. 

In line with the event's objectives to encourage skills development alongside higher education, participants were introduced to Internationally acclaimed Entrepreneur and Mentor Mrs Shika Obeng Kamara. She is a molecular Biologist and Executive Director of Human Resources and PR  at FC Group Limited. The FC team demonstrated skills in make up artistry and spoke on self employment opportunities in the beauty industry. A high level delegation from Firstrust Savings and Loans Ltd were present to educate the girls on "the magic of a healthy savings habit." The Firstrust Team also oriented the Girls on its Saturday teen internship program. Also in attendance were the team from Unlocking Women and Technology (UWAT). UWAT offers free I.T. skills training to girls and female entrepreneurs. Its parent company, ISPACE encouraged the participants and all start-ups to take advantage of its reasonably priced workspaces to launch their businesses. Instructors from Flowers Forever facilitated events decor sessions.